Today marks the 27th anniversary of one of the most massive blockbusters that changed the film industry in so many ways. Jurassic Park follows paleontologists Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) who are among a select group chosen to tour an island theme park populated by dinosaurs created from prehistoric DNA. While the park’s mastermind, billionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), assures everyone that the facility is safe, they find out otherwise when various ferocious predators break free and go on the hunt.
What can I say about one of Steven Spielberg’s greatest films? It’s absolutely amazing and stands its ground as one of the greatest dinosaur films ever made. This featured groundbreaking work in CGI by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and equally groundbreaking practical effects by legendary special effects artist Stan Winston and his team. But it wasn’t just the dinosaurs and the effects that made this movie so beloved, it was also an excellent cast of characters, and a thrilling story with smart themes that made it have such a huge impact.
It’s a sci-fi adventure film that tackles the topics of science going too far and crossing moral boundaries that can endanger human life. While many other films have gone and tackled these topics in different ways I still consider Jurassic Park and some of its sequels to be the films that tackled these topics the best in a unique and interesting way.
The story is based on the book of the same name written by Michael Crichton, who just so happened to pen the screenplay for this film too. The story feels grand and epic in scale, but it also has a number of small moments full of powerful emotions and pure tension. You feel so engaged with the beauty of everything, as well as the horror of the events that unfold.
All the characters are extremely likable and memorable in their own way thanks to the performances from each actor. When they are brought to this place of wonder and see these majestic creatures of the past they all have their own reactions. Some are amazed by the power of this place and seek to exploit it in certain ways. Others fear of the consequences of what is being accomplished in the park and how it can endanger the world. That fear, of course, is justified when certain events cause some of the most dangerous dinosaurs to run amok.
Sam Neill and Laura Dern as Alan and Ellie are such great and smart characters, who are first lured by the magnificence of the park but soon have to resort to their own resources and intelligence in order to survive. Jeff Goldblum plays the sleezy Ian Malcolm, and yet ends up being the one that was right when no one else listened. He offers most of the humor in the film as well, and remains as one of my favorite characters in the film and the whole series.
We also have the masterful yet somewhat deluded creator of the park, John Hammond, played by the late Richard Attenborough. He has one of the most interesting arcs in the film, starting out as a confident individual that believes he can play god and be in complete control, but as certain events unfold he soon realizes what he has done and attempts to make amends to protect the people he cares about.
The Murphy siblings, played by Joseph Mazzello and Ariana Richards, are good kid characters that have perhaps the most exciting and tension-filled scenes. People may find them annoying in some instances, but they aren’t useless characters by any means. They might be the most vulnerable but they are intelligent and they use their own wits to survive.
There are also a number of fun and interesting side characters within the film that offer memorable and quotable scenes, including beloved Samuel L. Jackson.
The dinosaurs themselves, from the herbivores to the carnivores, were fucking awesome in 1993 and still are to this day. They are brought to life through both CGI and practical effects that have seriously aged well even after such huge advances 27 years later. They spared no expenses when it came to making these ancient beasts. Interestingly enough, though, the dinosaurs each have their own distinct roles and their own impact on the tone of the story, just like the human characters. When they are meant to be magnificent they are magnificent. When they are meant to be terrifying they are terrifying.
And of course the most famous dinosaurs that bring the thrills and chills to this film are the mighty T-Rex and the deadly velociraptors. The T-Rex is a full on force of nature that acts purely out of pure instinct, but is nevertheless the ultimate predator. The T-Rex is such an iconic movie monster and has remained one of the best elements of the entire Jurassic Park series.
Then you have the raptors, who bring the most danger to our human characters due their heightened intelligence and strength. Right from the start they are built up to be truly terrifying creatures, which leads to a truly great pay off when they’re finally revealed. They steal the show by having the most gripping scenes full of pure terror. Spielberg went really out of his way to make a them the scariest part of the movie, and he certainly succeeds on that front.
There are a lot of great scenes of epic adventurous thrills and beautifully crafted horror-inspired small scale moments, thanks to excellent cinematography, groundbreaking effects, and of course a perfect score from the music master himself, John Williams. Jurassic Park made a huge contribution to cinema as a whole all thanks to Spielberg and his team of amazingly talented magic makers. And while people are mixed on sequels of this series, I think everyone can universally agree that the first film is truly and utterly masterful. I’m going to give Jurassic Park an A+.
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